VOL . 36 • ISS . 25

with the East Bay Regional Park District for managing the recreational facilities . The lake will reopen on President Day ’ s weekend in February 2018 .

Robbie Dunham of Team Koke Machine Guide Service reported top-notch fishing during the final Friday of the season . He caught and released 17 rainbows while trolling with Speedy Shiners up the river arm .

PYRAMID LAKE

Shore Cutthroat Bite Starts Picking Up

RENO - The shore bite at Pyramid Lake is by no means “ hot ” at this time , but for the first time in the young season , it is showing signs of life .

A source that wished to remain anonymous , and keep his location clandestine , reported a very good shore bite on a nice grade of fish . “ We caught three fish in the 8-10 pound range on the fly rod ,” he said . “ We also caught a few smaller fish .”

Good shore spots can quickly be ruined by big crowds , so if a spot is consistently producing , and no one else is there , it ’ s prudent to keep that info tight to the vest . Meanwhile , there is a not so secret bite for boaters trolling U-20 Flatfish along the bottom at many west shore beaches .

Jeff Morris disclosed , “ The wind kept us off the water last week , and the shore bite was dead for me . We have been doing well when we get the boat out .”

For as well as the bite has been going , most anglers have been struggling to produce big fish . That ’ s not to say that big fish aren ’ t a possibility . Anytime you have a line in the water at Pyramid Lake , a 10-25 pound Lahontan Cutthroat is a possibility . As of this writing , a fair amount of 10-15 pound trout have been weighed in .

As Thanksgiving time approaches , the shore bite should be excellent . However , many of the traditional fall spots are closed , including Howard and Dago Bays .

Both of these spots have been excellent over the last few seasons . This is a real loss for fly fishermen in particular , as these locations are the perfect depth for dragging a wooly bugger along the bottom .

- Mike McNeilly

QUARRY LAKES

Trout Offer Fantastic Bite

FREMONT – Fishing for rainbow trout and channel catfish has been superb at Quarry Lakes over the past couple of weeks .

“ Lots of trout are being pulled out , and the catfish are still biting at Horseshoe Lake ,” reported Joe Sullivan of the East Bay Regional Park District . “ We had three plants in October , totaling 3,000 pounds of

Doug Greening bagged this impressive 6 pound rainbow while trolling a Shasta Tackle Humdinger this fall .

Photo courtesy of GARY MIRALLES , Mack ’ s Lure .

Mt . Lassen trout .”

“ Please be aware that we have started our winter hours this weekend , with the gates opening at 7 am and closing at 5 pm .,” said Doucette .

Gary “ Studler ” brought up two beautiful cats , both just under 6 lbs . He caught them in Horseshoe on Rapalas while trolling for trout , noted Sullivan .

Dexter Miguel brought up a nice 5.2-lb rainbow trout , also caught on Horseshoe with Rapalas . Coco Maravilla of Hayward caught a beautiful 7.1-lb rainbow trout off of fisherman ’ s row on PowerBait .

Carlos Rodriguez landed two rainbows weighing 6.25 lbs and 8.5 lbs on Fisherman ’ s Row using green PowerBait . “ Lucky ” Mark Nguyen caught a hefty 9.5-lb rainbow trout in Horseshoe using green PowerBait .

You can exchange lead tackle at the kiosk in a “ 1 for 1 ” trade for stainless steel weights .

REDDING / RED BLUFF

Late Season Kings Provide Thrills

REDDING - After a late October salmon drought , kings are once again surging up the Sacramento River and anglers are enjoying awesome results .

“ The fishing is really good right now . There are lots of salmon in the river and anglers are getting limits and near limits most days ,” reported Robert Weese of Northern California Guide Service . “ The only downside of the fishing right now is we are not seeing those jumbo fish we often see in November , but they may be on the way . Currently most of the fish are chrome

Now Booking Sacramento River King Salmon in Downtown Sacramento Area !

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bright and running 9 to 12 pounds .”

“ Early in the morning I ’ m running plugs and we typically pick up a fish or two . Around 9 o ’ clock I break out the roe and that ’ s when we see lots of action . Once the sun is up the roe fishing gets really good ,” exclaimed Weese .

Mike Bogue , like Weese has been putting his clients on some solid late season salmon action . Bogue starts out with Flatfish plugs and then switches over to working Pautzke cured roe .

If you ’ d like a crack at a limit of late run chromers up in the Redding area , give Robert Weese or Mike Bogue a call . They are two of the best sticks on the river and will work hard to get you fish . To contact Weese , call ( 530 ) 755-7196 . To reach Mike Bogue , dial ( 530 ) 246-8457 .

RIO VISTA

Stripers Lead Autumn Angling Parade

RIO VISTA - Striped bass fishing continues to provide excellent action , with salmon and sturgeon also on tap .

Anglers fishing bait below Rio Vista were catching good numbers of feisty , fall-run striped bass this week according to Craig Kamikawa at Fisherman ’ s Warehouse in Sacramento .

“ It seems as the water has gotten cooler , the bite has been getting better . Shad , anchovies or sardines are working good . Some guys are running live mudsuckers or jumbo minnows ,” he tipped .

“ Cut bait works better on the Sacramento River , and live bait is working better on the San Joaquin . You ’ re

Nov . 24 - Dec . 8 , 2017

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fishing deeper on the Sac , and shallow on the San Joaquin ” he added .

Sturgeon fishing was rated as fair , with the diamondbacks being landed on the Sacramento River .

“ Sherman Island and Decker Island both have their share of fish . There ’ s been bigger pods of fish moving through with the tides than in years past . Use salmon roe or eel for bait .”

Anglers in search of salmon dwindled , with Kamikawa recommending Silvertrons on the troll .

“ They ’ re still out there from Vieira ’ s up to Sacramento . Troll chartreuse or half silver and chartreuse spinners ,” he tipped .

ROLLINS / SCOTTS FLAT LAKE

Warm Fair Conditions Delay Fall Trout Bite

COLFAX - This is often the time of the year when fishing really sparks to life at both Rollins and Scotts Flat Reservoirs , but so far this fall has been an exception to the rule . The weather has largely been warm and sunny . This combined with a lack of trout plants have set the stage for a prolonged period of slow fishing .

“ I ’ m pretty much over catching small bass , but that ’ s all you ’ re likely to get if you visit Rollins and Scotts Flat right now ,” reported Jason Pleece of Meadow Vista . “ I really want to start catching some trout , but for trout fishing to improve we either need the weather to get a lot of colder or we need the DFW to start making regular trout plants . In an ideal world , both of these things would take place and then we ’ d enjoy the kind of trout fishing we had at Scotts and Rollins 10 years ago .”

“ Both of these lakes have populations of brown trout , but until the surface temperature really drops they are extremely elusive . Rainbow trout plants are a two-fold benefit to these fisheries . Most obviously , they provide trout for anglers to catch from both boats and the bank , but when rainbows are being planted it really seems to stimulate the brown trout bite ,” observed Pleece .

“ I ’ m hoping that we see some cold stormy weather soon . That in itself will sparks some brown trout activity . Until then you can target bass with crankbaits , topwater baits and small soft plastics , but don ’ t count on hooking anything over 2 pounds . Personally , I ’ m going to hold off until there is a change in the weather ,” Pleece concluded .

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